Launched on HBO in 2014, True Detective captivated audiences in its first season and now it’s time for Season 4, officially titled Night Country. The crime anthology series follows a team of detectives who gather information on a seemingly unsolved case.
Nic Pizzolatto’s unique storytelling style combined with complex and fascinating characters has earned the series countless awards and accolades. As each season revolves around a completely different cast and storyline, it is always difficult to guess what the new season will offer to the viewers.
Before we enter the land of the night, it is important to briefly review the previous seasons. They may have nothing in common story-wise, but they share the same DNA when it comes to format and structure. A look back might give you some insight into the new season.
Previously on True Detective
In the first season, we saw the existentialist Matthew McConaughey with the epicurean Woody Harrelson as Rustin Cole and Martin Hart as they investigated the ritual murder of a young woman in Louisiana. The series cuts to the events of 1995 and 12 years later, where Cole and Hart are questioned about an old case and how they solved it.
The second season, which received the most mixed reviews from viewers and critics, takes us to California, where we follow Colin Farrell as Inspector Ray Velcoro, who reluctantly joins forces with Detective Sergeant Annie Bezerides (Rachel McAdams) of the county sheriff’s department and patrol. Officer Paul Woodrow (Taylor Kitsch) investigates the death of the city manager. Career criminal Frank Semyon, played by Vince Vaughn, also begins his own investigation into the death that led to his bankruptcy.
The third season is set in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas and spans three decades. It stars Mahershala Ali as Detective Wayne Hayes and Stephen Dorff as Roland West, his partner in the state police. Both investigate the mysterious disappearance of two young children in 1980. The 1990 unsolved case is reopened as new information emerges, and in 2015 Hayes (now retired and battling dementia) was interviewed as part of a documentary about the old case.
What does season four have in store? With almost five years between last season and next season, there’s no shortage of questions!
Release date: Where and when will True Detective: Night Country be released?
The series was originally scheduled to premiere in 2023, but was pushed back to January 2024 due to strikes in Hollywood. The series is confirmed to debut on Monday, January 15, 2024 on Warner Pass, available through Prime Video. In the meantime, you can catch previous seasons of the series, still on Warner Bros.
Trailer: What do the latest True Detective: Night Country images reveal?
Last February, HBO released the first teaser for season four, a very disappointing 8 seconds long, which can be seen in the tweet above. But the cable channel revealed a little more in April by releasing a second True Detective: Night Country teaser, which you can watch in the player below.
Finally, on September 28, the actual trailer was released, showing more details about the case and a little about the personal lives of the investigators involved. We can feel the conflicts between the two main characters and the complex investigation, in the purest tradition of True Detective. The change of scenery, to an action set in Alaska, also causes a sensation and gives a good overview of the mood of this season.
Starring: Jodie Foster (Detective Liz Danvers), Callie Reiss (Detective Evangelina Navarro)… Who stars in True Detective: Night Country?
Jodie Foster, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her investigative role in the cult hit The Silence of the Lambs (1991), will play lead detective Liz Danvers. She will join the fun-loving Evangelina Navarro, played by professional boxer and actress Kali Reiss.
The latter made his debut as a screenwriter and actor in Catch the Fair One (2021), where he plays a boxing champion. John Hawkes (3 Billboards, The Revenge Panel) will join the cast as Hank Prior. Hank’s son Peter is played by Finn Bennett.
The role of Ted Corsaro will be played by English actor Christopher Eccleston (former Doctor High). The brilliant Fiona Shaw, best known for her role as Aunt Petunia in the Harry Potter films, will play Rose Agino. Other cast members include Anna Lambe (Three Pines) as Kayla Maley, Isabella Starr LaBlanc (Long Slow Breath) as Leah aka Niviana Julia and Joel Mongrand as Eddie Kavvik.
Who are the creators of True Detective: Night Country?
This season marks a real break from previous seasons. Indeed, True Detective: Night Country is written, produced and directed by Issa Lopez (They’re Coming Back…), who also serves as the lead director.
Other executive producers on the project include series star Jodie Foster, as well as Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski, Mark Ceriak, Marie Jo Winkler, Chris Mundy, Alan Page Arriaga, Steve Golin, Richard Brown, Woody Harrelson, Matthew McConaughey, Cary Joji Fukunaga. and Nick Pizzolatto, series creator. Indeed, Nick Pizzolatto was not involved in the writing of this season.
Where and when was True Detective: Night Country filmed?
While Season 4 is set in Alaska, it was filmed in Iceland. Production began in November 2022, and Issa Lopez recently announced the end of filming in an Instagram post on April 7, 2023.
What is the plot of True Detective: Night Country?
The new season is set in Ennis, Alaska, a town plunged into darkness 24 hours a day for several weeks each year. Locals call this natural phenomenon “long night”. At one point, during the last sunset before the long night, a group of men disappear from the Tsalal Arctic research station where they work, curiously leaving only their shoes as traces.
At the site where the men disappeared, Detective Liz Danvers insists that the location be treated as a crime scene. He teams up with Detective Evangelina Navarro to find out what happened to these missing men.
As in previous seasons, there is also a mysterious spiral-shaped symbol that is inextricably linked to the case. This image can be seen briefly in the new trailer when Danvers places photos of the missing men on the ground around him, and later when a spiral is painted on the side of a building with blood.
The same spiral symbol can also be seen in previous seasons, especially the first season, on the bodies of victims and as hallucinations that Kohli experiences during his investigations.
This supports the somewhat mystical dimension that inhabits the mythology of True Detective. Ennis’ surroundings in Alaska during “The Long Night” and the trailers suggest that the series flirts with supernatural phenomena. Or at least let it take on a supernatural vibe without going too far. Either way, Inspectors Danvers and Navarro will have to put their differences aside if they want to solve this new mystery.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
